The End of Araluen
by B.C Griggs
Summary: A story of ... well pretty much the usual,Death,Adventure,Terror,Love and War. Rated T for future content
1. Decisions, alcohol and Conspiracy

**I know I haven't really done Rangers Apprentice justice... Few people can. But this was pretty much all I could come up with. **

**Prologue**

The veiled figure walked along, disguised by the night. His target was fast approaching. The abandoned chapel at the edge of the city was close now. He couldn't see it but he most certainly sensed it. The mist may have covered most of the surrounding area , but he could hear the chanting of the mysterious conspirators. He knew he had found them. He was nervous, he had no idea what the expect from them. He knew this was the final meeting before moving on. He approached the dark, gloomy church to find one of his friends waiting at the door. He quickly said hello then rushed inside, scared to linger for too long. He realised he was late, they had already begun.

" To the first order of business everyone," began the leader. " King Duncan will be dead within the week, we will have our money and you will all be free of this burden that has been placed upon you these past few weeks." The leader paused for a moment. "Nice of you to finally join us Peter, take a seat." Nerves engulfed Peter's body, he sensed danger. The leader began again. "Peter you will have to make a choice, between us and your brother, Michael. You cannot continue in this fashion. You cannot remain undecided. You must commit to our cause." There it was, exactly what he had feared. He had to make a choice, one that would define his life. It would decide the way in which history looked back on him, as a murderous traitor or as a man who tried to do the right thing when his king needed him most. When Peter put it like that it seemed like an easy choice to make. However, if they succeeded he would be richer than he ever could have imagined. Money and power corrupted men very easily, something that Peter would have to learn the hard way...

**Chapter 1 – Decisions, alcohol and conspiracy!**

Michael sat there, silently in the tavern, undisturbed by his friends. He was in a particurly grim mood this evening. He had completely lost the trail of the mysterious cult. His tracker, Solomon had lost them two villages back. Why were they moving so quicklty ? What were they hiding ? He had to find out because so far he had failed King Duncan, who knew what the consequences would be. He could only imagine...

Solomon and Irwin approached the slumped man at the bar, hoping to brighten his spirits. Although they had known him a long time they had never seen him like this.

"Michael, there must be something we can do, someone we can ask..." Solomon left the question unfinished.

"Barman, more ale." Muttered Michael, who obviously didn't appreciate his friends intrusion. The barman refilled his glass and Michael passed over a bronze coin.

"Focus Michael," insisted Irwin. "This is serious, what can we do?" It took a while for him to reply.

"There is one thing we can do, I was hoping we wouldn't have to, but it seems to me we have no other choice. I must find my brother."

Peter had been thinking about his next move. All he really cared about was money but he didn't think their contractors would pay up. He knew from experience that they weren't to be trusted. But Peter knew once the King was dead there was no turning back. He had to make up his mind quickly and stick with it. The something occurred to him. A plan was beginning to form in his head, one the leader would like.

Peter did not know his name, all he knew was that the leader did not tolerate failure. They would be moving villages again, each time closer to Castle Araluen. Eventually his brother would work out what they were planning. Better to try and get him killed before that happened. He walked swiftly towards the house the leader was staying in, he couldn't waste any time. He knocked on the door and tried to wait patiently. He was buzzing with excitement though, so when he didn't come to the door he kept knocking, finally he came to the door.

"My Lord, I respectfully request a few minutes of your time, I have a plan to kill the men who were following us."

"Peter, it's time you started calling me Stuart and please, come in." Peter accepted the invitation and hurried in, eager to get started with his plan.

" Stuart, if I meet my brother before we move on I can lead them into an ambush set up by our merceneries, of course it's slightly more detailed..."

" I like the sound of it Peter, I have one small problem with it though." Stuart considered his statement briefly. "How do you know he's going to be here?" He asked. Peter waited a moment before answering.

"Oh I know Stuart," he paused again. He couldn't stand passing up an opportunity for theatrics. "He'll be here."

"Redmont," mumbled Michael. "Their in Redmont." He continued rather trumphantly. He had been comteplating the whereabouts of the missing cult for several hours. "It's the only possible explanation They've slowly been moving North in a zig-zagging pattern from village to village." Concluded Michael.

"I will send word to Crowley," said Irwin. "He will want to be kept informed." Informing Crowley was the last of the things he needed to be doing right now but, Irwin, being a ranger himself, albeit an apprentice ranger felt it was his duty.

"How do you intend to get word to Crowley?" Asked Vern who had just joined them.

"Carrier pigeons" Said Irwin as he left the room, most likely to locate a carrier pigeon. Michael got up and slowly began his walk to the door as well.

" And where might you be off to?" Questioned Solomon.

"Redmont Fief, care to join me?" He asked as he left the room to go to the stables. Solomon and Vern quckly filed out of the room to follow.

" An incredibly difficult mission to search for a dangerous cult no one has any knowledge of, a crazy leader with an overdeveloped moral code and long rides in the rain through an intolerable environment. What could possibly go wrong?" He asked of no one in particular as he left the room- scoring an evil glare from Solomon. This was going to be quite some mission he thought. He just had no idea how right he was.

"We have to delay." Pleaded Peter. Stuart had decided it was time to move on.

"No." Replied Stuart. He would have to find another way for his plan to work. He knew that his brother would come to Redmont at some point, he just needed to find another way for his plan to work. He knew that his brother would come to Redmont at some point, he just needed to make sure his arrival recieved an appropriate welcoming. The more he thought about it the more he thought his plan could never fail. However he was ignorant of one fact – Michael would not be coming alone. That was the only advantage Michael had and it would soon become irrelevant when Peter organised an ambush capable of eliminating a small army. He selected an elite infantry force provided by their contractors to carry out the assassination. He knew they would succeed. He knew that soon, Michael would be dead and all his worries would be laid to rest. Yes, he liked the sound of that, soon he would be lying on a beach being massaged by two half-naked women. Yes, he really liked the sound of that. All he had to do was kill King Duncan and eliminate his brother. Suddenly, life seemed easy again. There was not a worry in the world for Peter Jones as he slept in his bed that night

Michael thought over what had happened in the last few days as he saddled his horse in preparation for the coming ride. He knew there would be a trap, if his brother truly was involved with these despicable individuals which he was hoping that Peter wasn't, then ther woudl certainly be a trap waiting for him and his people. All he head to do between here and Redmont was work out how to avoid getting caught up in the trap. Then rather suddenly, Michael came to a most annoying revelation, he had gotten himself involved in some very messy business over the past few years.

Once he had finished with his horse he walked back to the tavern to drink one final ale for the journey ahead. Then he saw it, just a slight noise to his left, and he caught something moving through the bushes with his peripheral vision. Someone was spying one them! He tore after it, galvanised into action he ran for the treeline chasing after the fleeing person. He sprinted past the lush,green row of plantlife, right into the ditch that preceeded it, bad move on his part. He had lost the spy and had torn a whole in his pants, not such a good start to the journey.

Adrenaline still surging through his body, he failed to see or hear the cloked man sneaking up behind him. He waited, his chest heaving from the sprint, until... SNAP! The man stepped on a twig. Michael span around to see the spy with a dagger in his hand, only but a metre away from him. He gasped in surprise, he certainly wasn't expecting that. His hand instictively lowered to his belt, he let out a slight yelp of horror at the situation that was unfolding. An armed assailant was advancing oh him with every intention to kill him and he had left his dagger in the hotel room, this really asn't the best start to his mission. He ducked quickly as the man tried to jab him in the arm. While he was down low he elbowed the main in the stomach temporarily throwing him off balance. He took advantage of this and tried to get his back but the move was expected.

Michael recieved a stab wound to the abdomen. The man ran off, assuming the wound was fatal, leaving Michael alone, fighting for breath and in dire need of medical attention.


	2. Ambushed!

**I know this isn't as long as Chapter 1. I will make up for it with the length of Chapter 3. It doesn't focus on my main characters as much. They will be the main people again in Chapter 3. **

**Chapter 2- Ambushed !**

Halt and Gundar stood at the bow of the ship, admiring the silent midnight sea. Halt rarely saw his fellow Skandian captain when he wasn't barking orders or hurling insults at his crewman, so this was an enlightening experience. There was a strange peace that surrounded the man, even more unusual for a Skandian, noted Halt was that Gundar had relinquished his hold on his beloved battleaxe for a brief moment. Only for a moment, he soon retook that hold. Skandians will be Skandians thoght Halt. To add to the evergrowing strangeness of the moment, Halt realised he wasn't feeling sick. This was turning out to be quite an evening. It would have interested Halt to know that Gundar's thoughts were surprisingly similar. Neither could believe that for one tiny, small moment all seemed well, everyone was asleep, the sea calm and no one was trying to kill them. The illusion did not last for long. The trance was broken as a volley of arrows thudded against the thick wood of the ship. It did not take Halt long to come to the realisation that they were under attack, with no one ready to defend the ship.

Irwin slowly walked to the stables, bow in hand as always, then he realised something was out of place. Michael's horse was saddled and untethered from the stable. Except Michael's was not present. Something was wrong, very wrong, he was certain. He noticed the footprints leading to the treeline and immediately began to follow them. He instinctively notched an arrow as he ran along, remaining hidden to anyone beyond by staying behind the trees. He stepped out from behind to see what on earth was going on. He saw Michael bleeding out on the ground and Irwin quickly began to fear the worst. He also saw a man with a bloodstained knife fleeing from the scene. Irwin naturally assumed the man wasn't present to provide moral support. He shot the fleeing man twice in the back without giving it any second thought. In uncertain times such as these hesitation could be a man's strongest enemy.

Halt sprinted below deck, the enemy warship only minutes away. He remained cool and calm as he was trained to do, it still wasn't easy for Halt. He knew their chances of survival were slim at best, he needed to act fast. He ran along the corridor banging on the doorse as he sprinted past them.

"Wake up everybody, wake up!". Halt shouted. He flew round the corner running as harder and faster than he ever thought possible. The last room was Will's. Halt needed Will by his side if they were to survive this encounter. He didn't bother knocking, he stormed into the room.

"Please Will, wake up, quickly!" Halt roared. His petrofyingly loud voice had the intended affect. Will was shocked by the sudden entry, he rolled over in the sheets attempting to will the disturbance away before quickly realising what was going on. He jumped up grabbed his bow and sprinted for the door. No need to put on his cloak, he never took it off.

SMASH! Will and Halt fell to the floor as the enemy warship crashed into the side of Wolfwill, they were in some serious trouble now. Both of them recovered from the shock quickly and ran for the top deck. WOOSH! An arrow flew past Will as he exited the stairs, temporarily throwing him off balance. Again, he got up quickly. The enemy had stormed onto the ship. Whoever was attacking them had obviously never fought against Skandians before thought Halt, they were attempting to engage them in single combat. Despite being outnumbered 4 to 1 Halt knew from this little piece of information that the situation was well under control. Although they were safe, Halt's mind was still troubled, who would dare take on the Skandians like this ? Who had the ego and self confidence to believe they would win? The part that worried Halt the most was that his mind kept coming back to the same answer, but it couldn't be, they would never attack like this, never against Skandian's anyway.

And then it all began to make sense to Halt, the weapons, the broad stature of the men, the hair. This lead Halt to the exact same conclusion as his previous question did. These men weren't here to take the ship, they were here to kill Princess Cassandra, they weren't simple pirates, they were Scotti.

King Duncan paced through the lively corridors of Castle Aruluen, perplexed by his current predicament. He had recently recieved intelligence reports from Crowley stating that the Scotti armies had assembled on the border between Picta and Aruluen. The report also said that they were planning to cross it into Aruluen within the week. He still could not understand this recent aggression from the Scotti, it wasn't like them. Someone else was involved but the question was who? King Duncan had the feeling he would be finding out very shortly...

He lost his train of thought as Crowley interrupted him. He knew it was going to be bad. Crowley, the leader of the rangers, a man who had taken down entire countries singlehandedly looked worried. In his opinion Crowley never seemed worried about anything, so this couldn't be good. Sadly, he was correct.

" Sir, I'm sorry," began Crowley, "We just lost Norgate Fief." Duncan couldn't believe it. Right in front of Crowley and at least a dozen other people the King collapsed, completely overwhelmed by the sort of day he has having, and in case the reader is wondering, not such a good day...

"Can we talk please?" Whispered Alyss. Will was standing but a metre away but still only just heard the question. Alyss had hidden hidden during the battle but quickly emerged once the fighting had stopped.

"Sure, why not?: Will replied, there were a million other things he was supposed to be doing but Will could think of nothing better than simply talking. All he wanted to do was get the horrific violence that had just taken place out of his head. Alyss took his hand and led him back to her cabin.

"Will," she began. "If we are to be married you must get used to the idea that, sometimes..." Alyss stopped, thinking her next sentence through, knowing that the following conversation would define their marriage. "Sometimes you will have to put our relationship before being a ranger." Breathing heavily and terrified at Will's answer, she reluctantly took a seat. Will was completely stunned, he didn't know what to say. He was not prepared to answer at all, but luckily from Halt's recent experience with married life, the ranger corps had a adopted a brand new policy regarding this very problem.

"Alyss, I know you think being a Ranger is all that matters to me, and I will admit up until a short time ago that was true. Then you came along and changed my life." He stopped momentarily to attempt ot gauge Alyss' reaction, she still seemed anxious. The feeling was mutual. Time to get this over with. "No matter where I am, no matter what I am doing, whether that is a thousand miles from you or right next to you, there will always be a special place for you in my heart." Butterflies fluttered through Will's stomach. Truth be told, Will had rehearsed that last part for several hours. Still... he thought, it didn't make it any easier. Alyss who was now smiling rather happily (much to Will's appreciation) , got up and gave Will the biggest hug ever thought possible, than a small kiss, the she left the room to pursue other matters. She would never tell Will this, but Alyss couldn't help but noticing a funny feeling running through her stomach. Little did each of them know that the future would so incredibly harsh in testing the commitment started in that room, on that fateful day.


	3. The Fallen

**Chapter 3- The Fallen**

Micahel rode quietly along the trail accompained by his fine band of adventurers. Together, they had formed a column in which to ride in. Solomon and Benjamin were riding twenty metres behind him whilst Irwin and Shannon were twenty metres ahead of him and Vern was tagging along much further behind the main group. He wasn't expecting trouble, he knew he was safe. What he didn't know was that his mind had not recovered from the trauma it had experienced recently. In the end this is something that Michael would never forgive himself for. Lives would be lost due to his ill-awareness.

Solomon and Benjamin continued to ride along, matching Michael's pace. They were somewhat more suspicious of their surroundings than their valiant leader. They only had one problem. Benjamin was also still recovering from something, except in this case it was self-inflicted. Alcohol was a dangerous thing, a lesson that Benjamin would not be given the opportunity to learn. Eventually, he sheathed his sword and relaxed a little, attempting to relieve his body's aching limbs and in that moment- he simply stopped paying attention. This was his gravest mistake.

Irwin and Shannon hadn't ran into any trouble either, however, Irwin, being a Ranger would never let his guard down in a situation as delicate as this. He would deal with any trouble he encountered, failure was not an option. Shannon on the other hand had very limited combat experience and was only present due to her skills as a tracker.

Naturally, when the inevitabkle ambush came, Irwin didn't waste any time in dealing with the nuiscance. He notched an arrow and fired before Shannon had any idea as to what was going on. He could see archers, seven of them, well six now. Arrows continued to fly past. Irwin's first instinct was to protect his horse, Storm, but he knew in this style of ambush nothing that got in the way survived for long. It was the hardest decision he ever had to make, but it was one that had to be made or his own life would be plunged into jeopardy. He quickly dismounted and used his horse as cover. If he hadn't, he would not have survived another ten seconds. Irwin knew this but it didn't make it any easier to live with. WOOSH! Another arrow swept straight past, the situation was getting out of hand. He needed a new plan fast or there wouldn't be anything left to defend. Something came to him shortly after, something crazy enough that it just might work.

Meanwhile Solomon and Benjamin had been attacked by a different group of archers. Solomon got his shield up just in the knick of time but his careless companion wasn't so lucky. He was literally filled with arrows before he could respond. Next, the archers took out Solomon's horse sending him sprawling to the ground. He lay there, unable to move trapped under the weight of his horse. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Michael, Shannon and Irwin were all that was left standing, well figuratively, Irwin was taking cover behind his now, dead horse. The other two had taken a stand behind a gigantic rock, shielding them from the deadly force of arrows. What they had not realised was the ambushers were expecting this. They soon sent a squad of swordsmen to deal with Michael and Shannon. Michael could see them coming from a mile away but he still struggled to formulate a plan. He had nothing.

"Now , Shannon you have to listen to me very carefully." Michael waited until she as paying attention before he continued. "We cannot defeat them and they will kill us if we stay here". He paused again, noticing the fear in Shannon as she observed the men charging at them. It was a particurly grim sight. " I will hold them off while you run, Irwin will have taken care of the archers." She nodded and got ready to run. "Godspeed Shannon." He whispered as she sprinted off into the distance. That was the last time he saw her alive.

Baron Arald was first alerted to the nearby battle by one of his aides. He immediately dispatched knights to deal with the disturbance.

Captain Grainwad led the knights through the increasingly dense forest until they came across the so-called battle. It didn't look like a battle to the good captain, looked more like a massacre to him. He saw that a man and a women were dead. Three more were wounded. While one was still engaged and losing badly. They needed to get to these poor people fast.

Michael knew he would be dead in a minute, one way or another, may as well make it count. He dropped his shield, took his sword with both hands and charged at the nearby enemy while crying some senseless phrase about what he would be doing with their corpses in just a few short moments. The first enemy never knew what hit him. Imagine running in a race before hitting an invsible brick wall, well... that comes pretty close to describing what that guy was going through. They only saw one man so they remained relaxed as he charged, not believing themselves to be in any danger -not such a wise move on their part. Four men were dead before they could react. They were helpless to defend themselves against this senseless rage that had been unleashed upon them. This attack had now blinded them to the cavalry now coming up quickly behind them. Captain Grainwad and his knights took care of the swordsmen easily enough.

Everyone stood there, speechless until the Captain broke the silence.

"What happened here?"

"I'm not sure, I'll let you know as soon as I do." Said Michael, still panting from his ferocious charge. He then walked off in the opposite direction to inspect the aftermath of the battlefield. He paid particular interest to the armour and weapons but still could not come to a conclusion as to the real identities of their adversaries. Luckily, Irwin had some idea of what he was doing. He approached with a slight limp, the result of a throwing dagger.

"Sir I think I know who these people are." Michael was oblivious to the outside world as he was deep in thought. His mind was slowly returning to its previous fluency. It took several minutes but Michael finally came to the realisation as to who the men lying in the dirt were.

"Oh my," he exclaimed. "My brother has been busy." Michael then walked off to inspect the fallen archers. What he saw confirmed in his mind the identity of his attackers. These truly were dark days for the Kingdom he thought to himself.

Captain Grainwad had been given orders to escort the survivors directly to Castle Redmont. Lets just say he wasted no time in doing so- much to Irwin's disgust. Protests could be heard the whole way to the keep, attracting quite a bit of attention from peasants and various children. No one took much interest in Michael or Solomon, just Irwin. Rumours of a mysterious Ranger in the area spread like wild-fire. Some said it to be Halt's long lost son, others said that it was in fact half-man half-beast. Irwin was particurly proud of that last one considering his relatively small stature, not completely unlike Halt, hence the first insane tale.

Anyway, soon after they dismounted and then walked to Baron Arald's office. It did not take long for Michael, Solomon and Irwin to realise that they were prisoners, not guests. It was going to take some convincing to get them out of this one. Nonetheless, Michael firmly believed that Baron Arald would see things his way, he had to, the fate of the Kingdom hung in the balance.

Baron Arald waited, looking forward to meeting the adventurers his men had rescued. His aide knocked on the door to indicate Captain Grainwad and the others were waiting outside.

"Enter." Spoke the Baron. To doors slowly creeked open at his command."Now to business," the captain then walked out to speak to his men.

"What have you three gotten yourselves into?" asked Baron Arald, who, by now, was expecting answers.

"I think I can explain my Lord" Said Michael, hoping that the man who so patiently sat in front of him would let him explain.

"Please do, i'm expecting this to be quite entertaining."

"Well... my Lord, approximately a month ago we were ordered by King Duncan to track down a ver y dangerous cult. I believe the men who attacked us were sent by these cultists to prevent us from following them."

"Why are they so dangerous?" Baron Arald particurly wanted to know the answer to this.

"Thats a question i've been asking myself for some time now." Truth be told, Michael had only figured it out yesterday. His mind was well on the road to a full recovery.

"and... do you care to provide an answer?"

"Yes, I would.I believe they are slowly making their way towards Castle Araluen and I don't think it would be wise to let them get that far. They need to be stopped." It was a question within a statement, he needed Arald to let him go soon.

"You will be allowed to leave soon enough. I still have more questions. Who were the men that attacked you?" Questioned Arald.

"This is also a question I have been pondering ever since the ambush. I believe I know have an answer, one your not going to like."

"I doubt it, I have recently been informed that the Scotti have invaded. I only just recieved orders to marshal my troops and ride north."

"This is not good, we must ride for Castle Araluen at once!"

"Why?" This had the Baron slightly more interested.

"Because they were Temujai! Do you know how disastrous an invasion on two fronts would be? It would be the end of Araluen!"

"Are you sure about this?" He needed to be sure that he could rely on Michael.

"Positive." He replied, Michael was sure that they were Temujai and it could only mean one thing. The Scotti and the Temujai were working together.

"Then we will ride at once." The Baron's mind was made up. It seemed for the moment that he could trust the three adventurers standing before him, the next few days were going to be very interesting.

Just when Michael thought he had everything figured out, just when his next course of action seemed simple, Irwin asked a question that pretty much destroyed the plans in his head. It was one that sent a shiver down his spine.

"Michael where is Vern?"

Stuart and Peter rode ahead of the main group, attempting to gain some private time. Somehow, Peter had gained a common respect for Stuart, despite what he was planning. It horrified Peter, what was he becoming? Peter had recently decided that he had to prevent the assassination and gaining Stuart's trust was integral to that plan. They were only an hour's ride from Castle Araluen, whether or not hsi brother was dead, Stuart would get his chance, there was no preventing it. For the first time since he joined the conspirators, Peter could not forsee what would happen, there was no guarantee that King Duncan would live but it was best not to dwell on such an outcome. 


End file.
